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American Idol (season 13)
American Idol (season 13) The thirteenth season of American Idol premiered on January 14, 2014, and concluded on May 22, 2014. Judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson continued to judge the show's contestants, along with Ryan Seacrest as host. Blaine Anderson, a native of Arlington, Massachusetts, was announced the winner of the competition on May 22, 2014, defeating runner-up Jesse St. James after nearly 200 million votes. Blaine Anderson is the only gay winner of the competition to date. This was the fourth season where both of the final two contestants had been in the bottom 3 or 2 at least once before the finale, the others being seasons 3, 8, and 11. There were no changes in format between seasons 12 and 13, and the judging staff remained consistent. However, the season was not lacking in controversies, one centering on the Judges' Save, which was not used for the first time since its introduction, and another on the sexuality of two contestants, Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, both of whom acknowledged that they are gay over the course of the season. The winner, Blaine Anderson, was then signed to 19 Entertainment/Jive Records. In addition to Anderson, Jesse St. James, Rachel Berry, Kurt Hummel, and Quinn Fabray all signed record deals. Kristin Hammond and Maria Estolano both signed independent record deals. Semi-Finals The top 36 were announced in a special two-hour broadcast on Thursday, March 06, 2014. All 36 contestants, performing in three groups of twelve, sang songs that were Billboard Hot 100 Hits. Below are the three semi-final groups with contestants listed in their performance order. In each group, three people advanced to the next round, based on votes by the viewers. The top male and female recipient advanced, along with the next highest vote recipient of the remaining ten contestants in each group. Following those nine singers advancing, eight of the remaining 27 semi-finalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round. Following another performance by each Wild Card contender, the judges selected four contestants to advance to the final group of 13. Semi-Final Group 1 – Billboard Hot 100 hits Semi-Final Group 2 – Billboard Hot 100 hits Semi-Final Group 3 – Billboard Hot 100 hits Wild Card Round- Billboard Top 100 Hits Finalists *'Blaine Anderson' (born January 20, 1994, in Arlington, Massachusetts, 19 years old at the time of his audition) auditioned in New York, New York, with Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream. Anderson was a performer from an early age, both singing and on stage. He performed with several community theater groups in Arlington as well as with the Dalton Academy Warblers, a nationally-ranked cappella group from Anderson’s high school, with Anderson as their lead singer. Prior to Idol, he was a public policy and business student at Columbia University. Anderson was announced the winner of the thirteenth season of American Idol on May 22, 2014. During the course of the show, he and fellow contestant Kurt Hummel began dating. His first official single, Come So Far, was written by Grammy-winning singer Neal Jameson. As a part of winning Idol, Anderson was signed by Jive Records and 19 Entertainment. Anderson will release his first record, Cityscapes, in mid-November of 2014. *'Jesse St. James' (born December 15, 1991 in Carmel, Ohio, 22 years old at the time of his audition) is from Los Angeles, California and auditioned in San Diego, California with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. St. James attended Carmel High School, where he headlined Vocal Adrenaline, the seven-time winner of the National Show Choir Championship. St. James was announced as the runner-up for the thirteenth season of American Idol on May 22, 2014. He was signed to RCA Records after the show and released his debut album Just Jesse. *''' Rachel Berry''' (born June 18, 1994, in Dayton, Ohio, 19 years old at the time of her audition) is from New York City and auditioned in New York, New York with On My Own from the musical Les Miserables. Berry began singing and dancing competitively at an early age, and attended McHenry Performing Arts High School. At the time of her audition, Berry was a sophomore at The Julliard School, studying vocal performance. She was eliminated from the Top 3 on May 15, 2014. *''' Kurt Hummel''' (born February 27, 1994, 19 years old at the time of his audition) is from Lima, Ohio and auditioned in New York, New York with Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina from the musical Evita. Hummel, a countertenor, received early media attention for his high voice and wide range; Idol judge Randy Jackson mistook him for a woman in his audition due to this. Hummel was the subject of controversy midway through the show when he was outed as gay and refused to deny the allegations; Hummel later began a relationship with winner Blaine Anderson. He was eliminated from the Top 4 on May 5, 2014. His debut album, Glitterati, was released in December 2014. *''' Quinn Fabray (born October 20, 1993, in Fairbrook, Ohio, 20 years old at the time of her audition) is from Arlington, Texas, and auditioned in Dallas, Texas, with Dionne Warwick’s ‘I Say a Little Prayer.’ Fabray grew up in Fairbrook, Ohio, and moved to Texas at the age of 13, graduating from Lamar High School. Prior to appearing in Idol, Fabray was a waitress at Nicely's Cafe in Arlington, Texas, where she had worked for four years. At the completion of the American Idol Tour, Fabray began a four-month tour as the opening act for The Dixie Chicks. *'Artie Abrams '(Born December 3, 1993, in Lima, Ohio) auditioned in San Diego, California with ‘Dancing With Myself,’ by Billy Idol. Abrams was in a car accident at the age of eight, suffering from a spinal injury that left him paralyzed below the waist. He auditioned with high school classmate Tina Cohen-Chang, who came in seventh on the show. *'Tina Cohen-Chang '(born November 17, 1993, in Lima, Ohio) auditioned in San Diego, California with Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow Rivers.’ Prior to joining Idol, Cohen-Chang worked in costume design and construction for Thirteen Moons Theater in Los Angeles. Cohen-Chang was often drew commentary for her fashion, as she frequently dressed in a gothic style. She was eliminated in seventh place. *'Joshua Contreras '(born March 1, 1998 on Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany), grew up all over the country, including San Diego, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Arlington, Virginia, where he spent most of high school before auditioning for American Idol. Contreras was the season's youngest contestant. Contreras auditioned in Louisville, Kentucky, with The Ramones’ ‘I Wanna Be Sedated.’ * Emily LaPelle (born May 7, 1986 in Natchitoches, Louisiana) grew up in Baton Rouge and auditioned in Dallas, Texas, with Mika’s ‘Elle Me Dit.’ LaPelle, a math teacher at St. Augustine High School, primarily speaks French Creole; her interviews on the show were usually subtitled in English. She is also one of the few contestants to perform a song in a language other than English on Idol (she performed ‘Belleville Rendez-Vous’ from the French film Les Triplettes de Belleville during Top 11 Week). * Deb Smith (born August 31, 1985, Manchester, United Kingdom) is only the fourth Idol contestant from outside the States to ever make it into the Idol Top 12 or 13. She auditioned in New York City with Idol Winner Kris Allen’s ‘Red Guitar.’ An accountant in Manhattan, Smith also spent much of her time pre-Idol playing open mic nights in Greenwich Village. She has returned to her day job since leaving Idol, though she is reportedly in talks with Decaydance Records for a potential record deal. * Kristin Hammond (born April 10, 1990, in Towaoc, Colorado) has been performing since she was a child. She auditioned with Bruno Mars’ ‘The Lazy Song.’ Hammond, who grew up on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in the Mesa Verde region of Colorado, was a professional beadwork artist before auditioning for Idol. Since being eliminated from Idol, she has been openly critical of the show’s treatment of minority artists. * Maria Estolano''' (born July 4, 1996, in San Jose, California) auditioned with Gershwin's 'Someone to Watch Over Me.' Estolano was the season's youngest female contestant. Her father stayed with her in the Idol Mansion until her elimination during the second week of the show. Estolano was apparently the instigator of the opposing-team jerseys worn by several fellow contestants during their traditional visit to a Los Angeles Dodgers game needed. Estolano was a senior at Notre Dame High School at the time of her audition. *''' Alex Ferguson '''(born September 18, 1989) was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and auditioned in Portland with Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire.' Ferguson was a Starbucks Coffee manager prior to Idol and returned to Seattle after being the first contestant eliminated. Finals Top 13- Elvis Presley Top 12- Year They Were Born Top 11- Songs from the Movies Top 10- Contemporary Country Mentor: The Dixie Chicks Top 9- Disco Top 8- Singles from Previous Idol Contestants Mentor: Kris Allen Top 7- Musical Theater Mentor: John Barrowman Top 6- Billy Joel Each contestant sang one solo and one duet with a fellow contestant. Top 5- Lennon/McCartney Songbook Each contestant sang two songs Top 4- Metal/Motown Each contestant sang one song from each genre Top 3- Contestant's Choice, Judges' Choice, Jimmy Iovene's Choice Each contestant sang three songs. Finale Each contestant sang three songs Controversies Blaine Anderson Anderson, the season’s winner, was at the center of two controversies: #Parents: Blaine Anderson’s parents (Dr. Paul Anderson and Dr. Theresa Anderson, both professors at Tufts University) were the first to never appear on the show; they did not consent to filming for his introductory video, attend any of the live performances, or appear at Anderson’s hometown concert. Anderson’s sister, Dr. Ashley Thoms, stated that their parents are “very conservative” 1 which, according to her, led to their being uninvolved with the show. Anderson has said that they have not contacted him since he made it through the audition. 2 #Relationship with Kurt Hummel: At some point fairly early in the season, Anderson began a romantic relationship with contestant Kurt Hummel. Tensions between the two were said to affect the entire group needed during ‘Songs by Previous Idol Contestants’ and ‘Musical Theater.’ The relationship became public knowledge moments before Hummel was eliminated, when the two kissed on stage. The kiss itself caused controversy when some Fox affiliates edited it out of later broadcasts of the show (see Top Four Editing Controversy). Fox News commentator Michelle Bachmann furthered the debate when she called for a boycott of the show until Anderson was eliminated 3. Kurt Hummel Outing Controversy The day after the results show for the Top 11 contestants, an article was published in the online edition of the Lima Times alleging that contestant Kurt Hummel is gay. Unlike other gay contestants (such as Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken), Hummel refused to deny or ignore the allegations, instead choosing to confirm them. Hummel became the only openly gay contestant to move into and beyond the Top 13, until co-contestant (and eventual winner) Blaine Anderson outed himself during the Top 4 results show. Judges’ Save For the first time since the introduction of the Judges’ Save, no contestant was saved from elimination. This led to allegations of sexism on the part of American Idol’s producers and judges, as five of the season’s female contestants (as compared to three of the male contestants) were sent home during the time the Judges’ Save was available for use. Contestant Emily LaPelle was nearly saved, but the vote was not unanimous (it is rumored that judge Randy Jackson was the dissenting vote needed), and she was sent home. Ohio Out of the top 13 contestants, seven (Artie Abrams, Blaine Anderson, Rachel Berry, Tina Cohen-Chang, Quinn Fabray, Kurt Hummel, and Jesse St. James) were either born in or spent significant time in Ohio. Three contestants (Abrams, Cohen-Chang, and Hummel) lived in Lima, Ohio, and graduated from McKinley High School. These seven contestants also made up the top seven on the show; Blaine Anderson, the season’s eventual winner, is the only one not born in Ohio (he was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, but attended Dalton Academy, a private boarding school in Ohio). Top Four Editing Controversy Contestants Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel kissed on stage during the results show for the top four, just before Hummel was eliminated. Although the East Coast broadcast was live, later broadcasts are delayed several hours, leading to several stations (in Utah, South Dakota, and Idaho 4) editing out the kiss. In response, Idol judge Steven Tyler tweeted “NOT LIKE THEY WERE FUCKING ON STAGE. CHILL.” 5. Several groups, including Focus on the Family and the American Family Association, expressed their displeasure with Fox Broadcasting for not having a longer tape delay that would allow channels airing the show live to edit out what they call “objectionable content” 6. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe commented that the seven-second delay (instituted when notoriously foul-mouthed judge Steven Tyler joined the show) should be plenty of time to edit out all objectionable language-- “which is really what it’s for” 7.